


Sky Full of Stars

by NatC7



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Amity is autistic, Beta Lumity, Beta!Amity, Beta!Luz, Beta!Willow, F/F, Fluff, I got the main friendships tagged but there are other friendships too, Luz has adhd btw, Mostly Fluff, Mutual Pining, Pining, Rivals to Friends to Lovers, maybe a lil angst, slowburn, so much pining, will add more characters as they come, written by someone who actually worked in a bookstore
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-19
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:21:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27636101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NatC7/pseuds/NatC7
Summary: Luz works at a coffee shop part time while she attends St. Epiderm University. On the first day of the semester, Amity Blight comes into the cafe.Amity works at the bookstore across from the Owl Cafe with her childhood friend Willow. When she meets Luz Noceda, the two of them form a sort of rivalry that eventually turns into a friendship, and maybe more. Read to find out ;)Title is a Coldplay song because I AM A SIMP
Relationships: Amity Blight & Luz Noceda, Amity Blight & Willow Park, Amity Blight/Luz Noceda, Luz Noceda & Gus Porter
Comments: 34
Kudos: 234





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again folks! I was gonna wait til tomorrow to post this buuuut I got excited because I really wanna write beta lumity, with everything that I simp for: Coffee shop aus, Bookstore aus, a title based on a Coldplay song, not to mention rivals to lovers????? This is a very self indulgent fic but I promise I am working hard to make it well written so that you all enjoy it. 
> 
> Note: I will NOT be posting daily updates. That is too stressful on me and honestly, for those of you who read my last fic, you may have been able to tell I was getting burned out. I will post as often as I can, however.
> 
> Enjoy! And please I love comments so much, and kudos are always welcome.

Luz hummed as she went into the Owl Cafe for work. It was early morning on a Monday, one of her least favorite days to work. Customers tended to be grumpy on these days. It was safe to say that Luz Noceda did not like Mondays. Still, she hummed an upbeat tune in an attempt to keep herself energized for her shift. Yes, she did have a cup of coffee at her apartment first, but she much preferred the coffee at the Owl Cafe.

So as soon as she clocked in, Luz headed into the kitchen to make her own cup of coffee. There was still 10 minutes before the cafe actually opened, so she had time. As she was starting up the coffee maker, her boss walked into the kitchen. 

“Morning, kiddo! Glad to see you, bright eyed and bushy tailed,” Eda said with a chuckle.

“I’m 24, Eda. Not a kid,” Luz mumbled. She really shouldn’t be rude to her boss, but she needed more coffee before she could be social. 

“I’m 20 years older than you, so you’re a kid to me,” Eda shot back.    
  
Luz rolled her eyes good-naturedly and finished making her cup of coffee. About two minutes before the cafe opened, a youthful looking boy rushed into the building. Gus shouted an apology to Eda for being almost late, to which the woman responded with a shake of her head. 

“You got two minutes to spare, kid. Chill out,” Eda told him. “Slow down before you trip and give yourself a concussion. I need two pairs of working hands on deck this morning.” 

Gus apologized again and disappeared briefly to clock in. Then he returned to the kitchen and Eda headed out to unlock the doors for the public. Luz smiled and gestured to the coffee machine which still had a fair amount of hot liquid inside.    
  
“There’s still coffee stuff in there if you want any,” she said to Gus. 

Gus beamed at Luz and decided to take her up on the offer. About five minutes later, Luz left Gus in the kitchen and went to the counter. She unlocked the register and logged in with her employee ID. She stared at the door, waiting for the inevitable surge of early morning coffee-drinkers. 

It wasn’t long before the morning rush came in. Luz and Gus made a great team though, and they managed the stream of customers fairly well. At around 8:45, things calmed down a little bit. Luz was about to pop back into the kitchen for more coffee when she heard the bell ding, indicating the entrance of a new customer. 

A girl that looked to be around Luz’s age with a mane of brown hair entered the cafe. The front of the girl’s hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail that sat on the back of her head. She wore a peach colored dress and had on leggings and knee high boots. The girl looked tired as she approached the counter, looking at the phone in her hand and tapping away with a thumb. 

Luz swallowed and looked away, trying not to make it seem like she was staring. Then she reminded herself that this was a customer so she did need to pay attention. It was this reminder that kept her from missing the girl order. 

“Can I get a peppermint tea, please?” the customer asked, and Luz almost forgot what she said as soon as they made eye contact with one another. She managed to parrot back the order, trying to fight back her very bisexual thoughts that were happening in her mind right now. 

“Peppermint tea? That’s pretty hot, I mean hot with people nowadays,” Luz tried to cover up her mistake. “Did you want something else with that?” 

“Hmm…” the customer glanced towards the display case next to the register that held several pastries. “I’ll take a blueberry scone, to go please.” 

“Got it!” Luz was relieved the girl hadn’t picked up on her slip. She went to the kitchen door and stuck her head inside, telling Gus the customer’s order. Then she went about getting a scone prepared for her.    
  


The girl stopped looking at her phone so she could watch Luz in bemusement and asked, “Don’t you need a name?” 

“Huh?” Luz flushed a deep red. She had forgotten the most important part of taking orders! “Right, sorry, can I have your name please?” 

“Amity Blight,” the girl responded before returning to her phone. Luz tried not to scowl. It looked like this would be one of those customers who spent most of their time on their phone

Luz let the girl-Amity- have her phone conversation while she prepared the scone. When Gus brought out the drink, Luz decided to mess with the customer a little. If the girl was so interested in her phone, what were the chances she’d notice her name was misspelled? She wrote Amity’s name on the cup, spelling it as Am-eh-tea Blit.” She kept her expression neutral as she called out Amity’s name and set the cup on the counter. 

The girl picked up the cup, glancing at the writing on the side. She frowned slightly, and Luz realized Amity wasn’t as invested in her phone as she thought. Surprisingly though, Amity made no comment. She gave a brief thank you to Luz before paying for her order. Luz watched her leave the coffee shop, disappointed she hadn’t gotten a reaction out of the new customer. 

Ah well, if Amity came back, Luz could always try again. The wild-haired girl stayed on Luz’s mind for the rest of her shift. Thankfully she would get a distraction when she headed to class that afternoon. 

~

Amity had indeed noticed that the barista misspelled her name on her cup. She decided not to give the girl the satisfaction of a reaction. She paid for her order and gave a brief thank you as to not come off as completely rude. If the tea was good enough, Amity would likely be frequenting the cafe a lot. It was just across the street from the bookstore where she worked at, after all. 

She walked into the bookstore, smiling at Kikimora who was standing behind the cash registers.

“Morning Kiki!” she greeted the older woman, having bonded with her during the week where she was training and not actually working. Kikimora gave her a small “hi” and Amity went into the back to clock in. She greeted her boss, Lilith before stowing her purse away in an employee locker.

An hour into Amity’s shift, her good friend Willow arrived for hers. The two girls were much closer after their brief falling out in their first two years of high school. They shared the same dreams and Amity had convinced Lilith to let Willow have a job at the same bookstore she worked at. 

Willow joined Amity at the customer service desk as the two of them would be womanning that area together for the day. Or at least until they had to head to class in the afternoon. Amity told Willow about the barista she had met at the Owl Cafe and showed her the cup with the misspelled name. 

It was a pretty easy day at the bookstore, so Amity’s stress level was low when she finally headed to campus for her afternoon classes. It was a new semester which meant a new set of people to interact with in each of her classes. When Amity walked into her Intro to Lit class, she was surprised to see the same barista sitting in the back row of seats. 

The other woman ended up catching her eye, and Luz smirked at the look of surprise on Amity’s face. Amity surprised herself even more by moving to the back and taking a seat next to her. She took note of the girl’s dark red beanie and army green jacket. It sort of gave the girl a delinquent look, but if she was in a class like this, she was clearly smarter than she looked. 

“Huh, I didn’t think a barista would be interested in a literature class,” Amity commented, looking at the girl beside her. 

“What’s that’s supposed to mean?” Luz narrowed her eyes at Amity. 

“Nothing at all,” said Amity. Before she could say anything further, the professor walked into the lecture hall. She took out her notebook and a small pouch that held her pencils and pens. She took one and turned her attention to the professor. Luz did the same, getting out her own notebook. However, she realized she had forgotten to bring a pencil that day.    
  
She glanced over at Amity and knew she had no choice. “Psst, Amity!” she whispered loudly to the taller girl. Amity frowned at Luz, displeased that she was trying to distract her. “Can I please borrow a pencil, I kind of forgot one....” 

Amity actually snorted in amusement and said, “You didn’t think to bring a pencil to an  _ English _ class?” 

Luz’s mouth twisted into a scowl and she glared at her. “People forget things, Blight. It happens.” 

Amity rolled her eyes and took a second pencil from her pouch, handing it over to Luz. “Give it back after class,” she said in a hushed whisper. She was relieved the teacher hadn’t heard them talking yet, but it was probably because the girls were all the way in the back of the room. She wanted to make a good impression on all of her teachers, and the bratty barista next to her was not about to ruin that.

Like all first classes, this one was just the standard with the teacher going over the syllabus and doing a little ice breaker so all the students could get to know each other. Luz hated these kinds of things, and was prepared to give a bullshit answer to the current ice breaker when it got to Amity’s turn. The taller girl next to her gave some vague answer about her favorite book series, saying she liked literature with fantastical elements and adventurous themes. Luz couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the fancy words Amity tried to use, but was glad to see that she didn’t like ice breakers that much either. 

The two of them joked about the teacher after the ice breakers were done, both girls thinking he was clearly trying too hard. The teacher would try to drop memes and had several peppered throughout his powerpoint presentation. It was hilarious, but also sad to see how many of them he got wrong. 

After class, Amity decided it wouldn’t be a bad idea to exchange numbers with Luz. After all, they sat next to each other in the same class and would likely end up being in the same group for projects. There was also the fact that Amity would be seeing Luz frequently at her cafe, since she had enjoyed the peppermint tea she bought. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said I wasn't going to post daily but chapter 2 is finished now so I'm giving it to you all. Enjoy :D

Luz was hoping Amity would come back in the morning. She kept casting curious glances at the door during the first hour of her shift. She didn’t know why she was so determined to see her again, especially since they weren’t exactly friends yet. Luz wanted to be friends with her for sure, but she knew she also needed to focus on work and avoid getting yelled at by Eda. Finally, a little after 8:30, Amity entered the Owl Cafe. 

“Back for more, princess?” she teased the wild-haired girl. She had decided on the nickname due to Amity’s stuck up attitude and had even made that the contact name on her phone. 

“Is that any way to talk to a customer, Noceda?” Amity shot back with a raised eyebrow. “Are you going to give me a hard time or are you going to let me order?” 

Luz chuckled and said, “Sorry Blight, couldn’t help myself. You just got that air about you. Anyway, what do ya want?” 

“I’d like to get ginger tea this time, please.” Amity gave her order to Luz, ignoring that extra remark.

Luz found it on the computer screen in front of her and called out towards the kitchen, letting Gus know what to make. Then she returned her attention to Amity. 

“A ginger tea is on the way. Anything else?” 

“I’m good, thanks,” Amity said coolly. 

She heard her phone ding at her and took it out of her pocket. Luz frowned, seeing Amity wasn’t all that interested in conversation. She figured the woman might only like to talk when she wanted to. Well that was fine with her. Still, it wasn’t like she had anything else to do except wait for Gus to bring out the tea. She continued looking at Amity, noticing the girl’s brows were furrowed together. Amity let out a groan of frustration, surprising Luz. 

“Uh, hey? Is everything okay?” Luz asked, feeling a little concerned. 

Amity blinked at her, then she frowned. “None of your business, Noceda. I’m just here to get my drink and you’re here to work. We’re not friends.” 

That honestly stung a little bit, as Luz thought they had bonded a little the day before. She tried to play it off by dramatically slapping a hand over her chest. “You wound me, princess! And I thought we were building something here.” 

Amity snorted in amusement and shook her head at Luz. “You’re delusional.” 

  
“And you’re being kind of a bitch,” Luz retorted before she could stop herself. She swore she saw Amity flinch at the last word, but now the girl was glaring back at her instead. 

“You really need to learn some customer skills. You won’t get anywhere with that mouth, Noceda,” Amity said.    
  
Gus came out of the kitchen before Luz could think of a response. She passed the drink along to Amity and the other girl continued, 

“You should come by the bookstore across the street. I can show you what customer service is supposed to look like,” Amity said, her tone crisp. She paid for the drink and left the cafe, leaving Luz stewing in anger. 

How did Amity Blight manage to push her buttons in just a few minutes? How was she so infuriatingly rude and goddamn attractive at the same time too. Maybe she had gone a little far by calling her a bitch, judging by that flinch Luz thought she saw. Still, there was no need to be so rude. She was only trying to make friendly banter, not antagonize her! 

Luz stared hard at the spot Amity had just stood in, trying to think of a way to get back at her. Eda came out of the office to see Luz scowling behind the counter. She turned her head to look at the rest of the room, but no one was there. 

“Hey kid, something up?” Eda asked, drawing Luz back out of her thoughts. 

“Huh? Oh,” Luz finally noticed Eda in the room. “Sorry, it’s nothing,” she brushed it off. It was nothing the older woman needed to worry about. She could deal with Amity Blight herself. She would apologize for the insult, and hopefully Amity would loosen up a little bit. If she didn’t...well Luz would figure that out later. 

Luz continued to think about Amity throughout the rest of her shift. This led to her being distracted and she did end up messing up a couple of orders. Eda had to tell her to get her head back in the game a few times, and she tried her best to push thoughts of Amity Blight out of her head. It didn’t work as much as she wanted it to. 

Her shift ended at 12, and there were still a few hours left before she had to go to class. Tuesdays were mostly evening classes for Luz. As she walked out of the cafe, she took notice of the bookstore across the street. The bookstore was called “Terrace Books,” and she was reminded of Amity’s words from that morning. 

“Alright Blight, you’re on,” Luz whispered to herself. “Let’s see this customer service of yours.” 

She walked across the street to the bookstore and went inside. She looked around while moving slowly through the bookstore. Then she spotted Amity at the customer service desk. The taller girl was currently helping a customer with something, so Luz lingered nearby. When she caught Amity’s eye, she gave her a smirk and a mock salute with two fingers.

Amity tried to act like she didn’t see Luz as she finished her current customer’s book order. She gave the customer a paper receipt and once they walked away, she turned her focus on Luz. She was still wearing her smirk, much to Amity’s annoyance. 

“What are you doing here, Noceda?”

“Oh?” Luz raised a brow and walked closer to the desk. For someone who wanted to show her real customer service, Amity didn’t seem to be doing a great job so far. “I thought you invited me here to show me some, you know,  _ customer service. _ ”   
  
“Well if you want to see anything, you have to actually ask for something,” Amity said, trying to keep her cool. Did this girl really just come over to challenge her? In her own place of work, no less? 

Luz smirked again and said, “Well I actually am going to ask something. You see I haven’t been in here before, so I don’t know where you guys keep your new releases. The newest Good Witch Azura book just came out last week, and I have yet to buy a copy. Maybe you could help me find it?” 

Amity hid her surprise at learning Luz was into the same book series as she was. She was not about to let down her guard for the other girl. “Alright, I can do that. I actually just put new copies on the table this morning.” 

She shot Luz a smug look and walked out of the cubicle she stood inside of. She led Luz back towards the front of the store, where the new release table sat in plain sight. The girl really was stupid. She should have seen this as soon as she walked in, and she was still making Amity do all the work. She stopped and turned towards Luz once they were at the table. 

“If you had used your eyes, you would have seen these straight away,” Amity said briskly. She picked up a copy of the newest release of The Good Witch Azura and handed it over to Luz. “There you go.” 

“That’s what you call real customer service?” Luz was unimpressed. While Amity had indeed helped her, she was still rude. “I’m pretty sure good customer service involves being a little nicer to your customers, and not insulting their level of intelligence.” 

“Well good customer service also includes not calling your customer a bitch,” Amity replied evenly.    
  
She had her there. Luz sighed and said, “Okay, I’ll admit I shouldn’t have said that and I’m sorry. Here, how about we start over?” She extended her hand towards Amity and said, “Hi, I’m Luz Noceda.” 

Amity rolled her eyes at the girl. She couldn’t tell if Luz was joking, but then again she could never understand jokes in general. “I know who you are already. We literally have class together.” 

Luz chuckled nervously, lowering her hand. “Okay. Well uh, thanks for finding the book for me!” She held up the book in question and added, “I keep forgetting to get a copy.” 

“You’re pretty forgetful, aren’t you?” Amity commented. “It’s a wonder that you’re still able to work at a coffee shop and remember orders.” 

“Hey!” Luz bristled at that comment, the words cutting her deep. “I have more difficulty remembering things than others, alright? It’s an ADHD thing, and it’s got to do with attention or rather my lack of-ugh.” She stopped herself from saying anything more. Amity didn’t need to know all that stuff. “I’m gonna head to the registers. Thanks for the book,” she said finally before leaving Amity at the new releases table. 

Amity felt a little guilty, seeing as she had crossed a line. She sighed and returned to the customer service desk. She kept her gaze in the general direction of the registers, and watched Luz when she finally left the store. Noceda was challenging, but in a good way. Amity knew she should probably apologize when she saw her in the morning, as Luz had left before she could. 

She remembered something and pulled her phone out of her pocket. Amity went into her contacts and changed Luz’s nickname from idiot to dork. That was still somewhat insulting, but not towards her intelligence. She genuinely felt bad about that. Amity put her phone away and tried not to think about Luz for the rest of her shift, failing spectacularly. 

After her shift was over, Amity realized she hadn’t bought her own copy of the newest Azura book either. So she did and read it after she did some homework back at her apartment. She made a mental note to maybe talk to Luz about the book series. Noceda was challenging, but seeing as she shared a special interest, there was a potential new friend in their relationship too. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter! I hope you guys like it~ I don't really have a plot yet I just wanted to write Beta Lumity with all my fave aus. I'm doing my best though <3

On Wednesday, Amity did not come into the cafe in the morning. Luz tried not to be too disappointed, telling herself she would still see her in class. Sure enough, Amity was already sitting at the back of the classroom when Luz walked in that afternoon. She debated asking the brunette about earlier, but decided against it. Amity had her own life, what did Luz care if she didn’t always go to the Owl Cafe? 

She sat down and pulled out her notebook as well as two pencils. “Check it out Blight, I brought two pencils this time!” Luz said with a grin.    
  
Amity rolled her eyes and muttered, “Congratulations. You remembered basic supplies.” 

Luz huffed at the remark, but didn’t comment on it. “So work was fun today. We actually got really busy for some reason, but I still managed to remember every order I got,” Luz said conversationally. “I’m not as forgetful as you think I am, Blight.” 

Amity remembered Luz’s small outburst from the day before and grimaced. “Look, I’m sorry for being insensitive,” she apologized genuinely. “I shouldn’t have said that. I’m not always the best with words.”    
  
“You should probably work on that since you work in a bookstore and all,” Luz replied evenly. “I’ll forgive you, though. You didn’t know, so it’s fine.” 

Amity was relieved to hear those words, but she didn’t show it. The professor came in and class started for the day. They were given a new assignment for the next couple of weeks: Write an introspective essay on a series of novels that has had at least two film adaptations. Amity immediately thought of The Good Witch Azura series and smirked to herself, this would be easy work for her. 

“Yes!” Luz whisper shouted, pumping her fist in the air. This earned her a few looks from nearby students but she ignored them. As the professor dismissed the students, Luz looked back over to Amity. “I know what series I’m writing about. It’s going to be the Good Witch Azura! You may recall me buying the latest novel yesterday.” 

“Oh? I was just thinking I’d do my essay on that series,” Amity said. Then Luz’s words clicked in her head and Amity's eyes widened at her. “Wait, you like Azura?!” 

“Duh!” Luz said, grinning excitedly. “It’s only been my favorite series since the first book came out! Shouldn’t you have guessed that when I bought the book?” 

Amity blushed in embarrassment and looked away, frowning slightly. “I didn’t know if you were only getting the book to test me or because you actually liked the series!” 

“Oh I was definitely testing you since you claimed to have such great customer service skills,” Luz clarified. “But I also really love the series.” 

“I see, well I hope my skills were satisfactory for your standards, however low they may be,” Amity said, enjoying how worked up Luz got over her teasing. 

“I’ll have you know my standards are very high!” Luz insisted. “But you’ll also be happy to know that, yes, you did meet my standards.” 

“I’m so glad,” Amity drawled sarcastically. Truthfully though, she was glad she had managed to impress Luz. That was one step closer to a possible friendship with her. Then she decided to take it further and said, “It may be beneficial to both of us if we helped each other with our essays. We are going to be writing about the same series, after all.” 

“Trying to steal my ideas, Blight?” Luz said in a tone that let Amity know she was just teasing. “Sure, why the hell not? I don’t know what your plans are for tomorrow, but I’m done with work at about 2:30 in the afternoon. I got a few hours before I have to go to my evening classes.” 

“I’m off at 3, so I could come to the cafe after?” Amity suggested. 

“Looking forward to it then,” said Luz with a grin. She pushed away from the table and stood up, gathering her stuff. “I gotta dash, but I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

“Yeah, tomorrow,” said Amity as she gathered up her own things. 

The next day, Amity did stop by in the morning to get a cup of tea. This time she got cardamom, a herbal kind of tea. She returned to the cafe a few minutes after 3pm like they had planned. Luz was already seated at one of the tables, her notebook out in front of her. She had the first two Azura novels on the table as well. 

Luz smiled and pushed her books out of the way to make room for Amity as the taller girl joined her at the table. “Hard at work, I see,” Amity said with an approving nod. 

“Don’t expect anything less than that from me,” Luz said while Amity sat down and took out her own notebook. 

Amity smiled and said, “I’ll keep that in mind. I think we should each work on our own for a bit and then we can compare notes later.” 

  
  


Luz shrugged and agreed that sounded like a good plan. The two of them worked in silence, but Luz would look over at Amity’s notebook every so often. She wasn’t about to let her new rival outdo her. However, Amity finally caught Luz peeking at her notebook and frowned at the other girl. 

“Trying to copy my notes, Noceda? I thought you were better than that.”

“N-no!” Luz said, getting defensive. “I just wanted to make sure you were keeping up. I’ve already got three pages of notes done.”    
  
Amity stared at Luz, trying to figure out what the girl was trying to do. “Really, Noceda? This isn’t really a competition.” She gestured to Luz’s messy scrawl that she called handwriting and commented, “At least my notes are legible.” 

“I just have a lot of thoughts, okay?” Luz snapped heatedly. “Besides I don’t know how anyone is able to write that neatly. Your parents probably put you in some fancy handwriting class for it or something.” 

Amity was silent for a moment, because Luz wasn’t wrong. Her mother had actually pushed her to have legible handwriting as it was more lady-like to do so. She didn’t care about that anymore, and now that she thought about it, Amity didn’t know why she was still so concerned about how neat her handwriting was. Her mother had no say in her life anymore, her father having cut Odalia off from the rest of the family after their divorce.    
  
“Oh my god, you actually did” Luz said, mistaking Amity’s silence for embarrassment. “Just what I’d expect from a rich, preppy girl.” 

Amity narrowed her eyes at Luz and asked, “What makes you think I’m a rich girl?” 

“That’s your car out there isn’t it?” Luz pointed out the nearby window at a fancy looking fiat. “You don’t have that kind of car unless you have lots of money.” 

“And is that a bad thing?” Amity couldn’t believe Luz was about to start judging her. 

“No!” Luz tried to appease the situation. “It’s a really nice car, I was just saying I can tell you're rich because of it.” 

“Ah, I guess that makes sense,” said Amity. Now she really was a bit embarrassed. “It’s not exactly something I like to flaunt, but it’s also the only car I have so…” She trailed off, hoping Luz would get the gist. 

“You’re really living up to your nickname, princess,” said Luz with a smirk. Then considering what Amity had just said, she added, “But I understand if you don’t want me calling you that.” 

Amity’s cheeks colored at the nickname, mostly because she kind of liked hearing Luz call her that. She looked away, feigning annoyance as she said, “I don’t really care, honestly.” 

Luz wasn’t sure if that meant Amity was uncomfortable or if she was just embarrassed, so she decided to move on. “Well we’ve both written a lot, let’s compare notes?” She pushed her own notebook towards Amity while simultaneously reaching for hers.

“Oh, sure, I’ll try to decipher your handwriting,” Amity teased. 

“It’s not that bad,” Luz mumbled as she leaned back in her seat. She read through Amity’s notes and honestly, she was a bit jealous at how well done they were. They were organized in a bulleted fashion, the same as Luz’s notes, but with shorter sentences and spaces between each point. She told herself she needed to focus more on the meaning of the notes rather than how they were written, and started over from the top of the page. 

It turned out the two of them had really similar ideas on what they wanted to write for this essay. However, it wouldn’t look good if they wrote similar essays so each girl decided she would go a different direction from the other. Luz went more into the plot changes and pacing that occurred when a book was transformed to a movie script. Amity wrote more about audience reactions, and how a movie format might appeal to some groups more than a written format. 

They fell into a routine over the course of the next two weeks. They would meet at the cafe after work or head to the library after their English class to work on their essays together. A few days before the essays were due, the two girls met up again at the cafe to review them. 

“Check it out, 12 pages of careful analysis, by yours truly,” Luz said, puffing out her chest as she presented the essay to Amity. The wild-haired girl rolled her eyes and took the essay, giving Luz her own in return. “Be as harsh as you’d like, I want to make sure I’ve gone deep enough.” 

  
Amity hummed her affirmation to do so as they sat at a table by the window. She read over Luz’s while the other girl did the same with hers. Luz noticed Amity had written 13 pages, and couldn’t help but wonder if she had still treated it like a competition. Regardless, Luz would do her best to critique her rival’s work. 

Amity was glad the official essays had to be typed, because she knew she wouldn’t be able to read Luz’s handwriting otherwise. She was rather impressed with Luz’s analysis, but noticed she had a tendency to write a lot of run-on sentences. She took out a pen and started making editing marks on Luz’s essay. She glanced at the other girl curiously only to find Luz was doing the same thing. Smirking, she continued editing in silence. 

When she was done, she handed the packet of paper back to Luz. “You use a lot of run-on sentences, but otherwise it’s really good,” Amity commented.    
  
Luz took back her essay and returned Amity’s to her. “Yours isn’t too bad either,” she said. “I think you may want to break up some of your paragraphs into smaller ones as most of the paper is giant sized paragraphs.”

“Noted,” Amity said with a small smile. 

Their professor was impressed with their work when they handed in their essays on the due date. It turned out they weren’t the only people who had worked together on their essays, and Luz wondered if the professor had planned it like that. Regardless, it was another job well done. 

Amity returned home to her apartment after school. Her father had bought the apartment for her the summer before she started college. Now it was her home in Bonesborough City, Washington. Luz stayed in the back of her mind as she did some other homework. The girl was definitely fun to be around, and Amity was glad they seemed to have a friendship now. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM ALIVE!!!!
> 
> I'm sorry everyone, I had been struggling with coming up with something to write for this story for a very long time. Then a few days ago I joined the wonderful Good Witch Society server and they helped me come up with something! I'd like to thank Kai and JuliaCorvia for helping me out on this chapter. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!! Remember I love comments <3

On mornings when Luz didn’t have class or work, which were usually Thursdays and weekends, she would go out for a run around the campus perimeter. She started from the northernmost part of campus as usual and jogged down the sidewalk. She reached the southwest part of campus and decided to break away from the area. There was a park just south of campus, and Luz decided to make her way there. She crossed the street and went onto the path that wound throughout the park. 

She was just passing the playground area when she saw a familiar face sitting on one of the swings. Amity hadn’t seen her, seemingly focused on gently pushing herself back and forth on the swing with her legs. Luz stopped jogging and instead walked over to the swing set, calling out Amity’s last name. 

Amity jumped in her seat a little and got up from the swing, somewhat embarrassed to have been caught being on the swings by herself. “Noceda, what are you doing here?” she asked, taking a moment to look at Luz’s outfit. 

“Just running,” Luz replied nonchalantly. 

Amity glanced towards the path Luz had come from in confusion, then looked back to her. “Running from what?” 

Luz stared at Amity for a moment, unsure if the other girl was serious. Then she jokingly replied, “I’m running from the heterosexuals, blasted fools, they’re _everywhere_!” 

Amity snorted in amusement at Luz’s playful banter. “You’re hilarious,” she replied dryly. Picking up on the word choice, she tentatively asked, “So you’re not one of them, then?” 

Luz did a double take, realizing she had just almost come out to _the_ Amity Blight. Despite her initial worries however, the girl didn’t look disgusted or dismissive, so Luz took that as a good sign. 

Why not go for it?

Feeling confident, she carried on, “What can I say, I like my women like I like my men. I’m bisexual, a bi-con, if you will,” Luz winked at the last bit, and Amity rolled her eyes at the bad pun. 

“I’m pretty sure you can’t just declare yourself an icon, er- a bi-con. I mean, it surely requires being at least a _little_ bit famous,” she pointed out.

“I will be one day, just you wait, Blight!” Luz insisted. “You’ll see, one day I’ll animate an epic western-style cartoon, and my name will be the _first_ to appear in the credits!” 

“That doesn’t exactly make you a bi-con,” Amity said flatly. “It just makes you an animator.” 

“Can you just appreciate my pun?” Luz’s composure faltered, and she snapped in annoyance, “You don’t have to point out _everything_ wrong with what I say.” 

“Looks like I do, seeing as you don’t seem to realize that nearly half of what you’re saying is completely idiotic,” Amity replied nonchalantly. Maybe that was a bit on the rude side, but Amity knew she was right. Luz scowled at her. 

“Well I’m sorry we can’t all be as smart as you, _princess_!” she hissed.

“I didn’t say you weren’t smart,” Amity backed off a little bit, sensing that she was starting to cross a line. Still, she wasn’t going to let Luz out-banter her. She continued, “I just expected that someone going into the animation industry would know what they’re talking about.” 

“At least I know more about it than you!” Luz retorted. “Don’t act all high and mighty when you’re still in the undergraduate class. Whether you like it or not, you’re in the same spot as me.” 

“You do realize we’re still in different majors, right? Maybe I don’t know anything about animation like you do, but you don’t know anything about business like I do.” 

“Uh, actually I do. You can actually learn a thing or two when you work at a goddamn coffee shop!”

“I’ll give you a point for that, Noceda. But don’t think you’re any better just because you know more about animation.” 

“Fair enough,” Luz conceded. “And a point to you for that, Blight.” The buzz of hostility was starting to fade and she figured it was time to cool it down a little. A moment of silence passed between then as the tension faded away completely and the air felt more comfortable. Then Luz spoke up again. 

“So, what about you? Why are you out here on the swings?”

“Just, you know, I come here when I want to think,” Amity explained. 

“Penny for your thoughts?” Luz asked, curious now.

Amity was hesitant, she wasn’t sure whether she was ready to share more details of her life with Luz. She was nice enough, sure, but could she trust her enough to unload all of her problems on her? Now that Amity thought about it, she wasn’t sure she could do that to Luz. The other girl didn’t need to deal with all of her personal shit. It wouldn’t be fair to her anyway.

“Nothing important, really,” Amity tried to brush it off. She did need something to give in place of what was really going on so she continued, “Just trying to figure out a plan for the new project I have in my Marketing class.”

“Oh, cool!” Luz tried to sound enthusiastic despite knowing nothing about what actually went on in a Marketing class. “What’s the project about?” 

“Oh, I have to come up with a pitch for a fictional product and come up with a fictional campaign for it,” Amity explained the best she could in layman’s terms. 

“Sounds... exciting?” Luz would have an easier time trying to be interested in watching paint dry, but she _really_ wanted to try and make conversation with Amity. Unfortunately, the awkward pause in her words gave her feigned enthusiasm away.

To her relief, Amity actually chuckled, “I know it’s not the most exciting thing in the world. But it’s important stuff for me if I want to go pass this class.” 

“Well, I hear exercise helps boost creativity and can help,” Luz started tentatively, “wanna join me on my run?” 

Amity was taken aback by the offer. Luz actually wanted to spend more time with her? Sure, they did bond over their project in English class, but Amity had thought Luz was only working with her for the sake of getting a high grade. She hadn’t actually considered that Luz _genuinely_ might want to hang out with her. There was no question about that now, since Luz was offering to spend some of her free time with Amity, out of her own volition.  
  
However, Luz seemed to have forgotten that Amity wasn’t really dressed for exercise at the moment. She was currently in her peach colored dress and boots, which weren’t exactly optimal for extraneous activity. 

She said as much to Luz, who sheepishly agreed that _maybe_ she had gotten ahead of herself. Amity smiled, “I appreciate the offer, though. I’m happy to do it another time, and maybe we can even race each other.” 

“Oh?” An eyebrow rose as Luz searched Amity’s face for any sign of humor. It looked like Amity was completely serious, and there was a small smirk tugging at her lips as well. 

Luz looked smugly at her friend and asked, “Are you challenging me, Blight?”

Amity’s smirk grew wider and she said, “Maybe I am. But have you considered that maybe you aren’t the _only_ one who wants to run away from the heterosexuals?” 

Luz was pleased to see Amity bringing up her joke again and laughed. “Glad you’re keeping up with me. Meet me back here then,” she proposed a plan. “On Thursday, seven AM sharp.” 

Luz understood the implication behind Amity’s statement, but had a feeling Amity wouldn’t want to make a big deal out of it. So she decided she would just carry on because honestly, nothing was really different now that she knew. They were still friends, after all. 

Amity was, in fact, grateful that Luz didn’t say anything about it or start treating her any differently. Not that she would have, since Amity now knew Luz was bisexual. Being a lesbian was just a natural part of who Amity was, and she didn’t feel the need to emphasize on it since Luz was already going with the flow. 

Luz smiled at Amity as she shifted her weight backwards, “I need to finish my run and then go home and shower. These clothes aren’t exactly comfortable after a long work out, you know.” 

Amity finally noticed that Luz’s top was stained with sweat and clung tightly to her torso. Her eyes went over to Luz’s toned arms and saw that Luz was actually quite fit. The sun shone on her skin, making the sweat shine and Luz looked more beautiful than she had ever been before. 

Amity blinked, taken off guard by her inner thoughts. _Where in the world did that come from?_ Luz was just a friend, and Amity was already glad for that. She did _not_ need even more complicated feelings coming into the mix while she was still getting to know Luz. She registered the amused look on Luz’s face and realized she had been staring for too long. 

  
“Sorry, yes! That sounds like a good idea!” Amity said quickly, catching Luz’s eye as the other girl stifled a laugh. “I must have spaced out, sorry.”

“Sure, Blight, whatever you say,” Luz teased, sticking her tongue out between her teeth. “See you later, princess.” 

Luz returned to the park path and continued her jog, and Amity watched her receding figure until it was out of sight. She groaned to herself, wondering why she had decided to embarrass herself like that. _I should just head back to my dorm. Do some school work. Then I can focus on something more productive,_ Amity thought to herself. She started walking back to campus, trying to push those strange thoughts to the back of her mind. 

* * *

Amity shared a dorm with a girl named Boscha, who was as hot headed as her red hair made her out to be. She had met Boscha in their first year of high school and watched the girl mature from a bit of a snobby teenager to a still somewhat snobby young woman, to a more restrained and less petty version of herself. The two of them had a solid friendship and honestly, it was probably one of the only better things her mother did for her. 

Boscha was on her bed doing god knows what on her laptop when Amity entered the room. The redhead was chewing on the eraser end of a pencil as she stared at her screen in silent contemplation. She gave Amity a brief glance and nod, acknowledging her presence before returning to the screen. 

Amity went to her desk and sat down, intending to start working on her marketing project and trying not to think too much about her encounter with Luz. She would talk to Boscha about it, but her long time friend was clearly in the zone with her own project. About an hour passed, and Amity had been typing away at her laptop when she heard Boscha call out to her.  
  
“Awl-right! Break time! That includes you missy!” Amity turned her head to see Boscha looking at her pointedly. “Wanna go out and grab some food?” Boscha asked her. The girl also had a sparkle of mischief in her eyes, which let Amity on to the fact that maybe she had more than just lunch planned. 

“Sure, why not,” Amity agreed, at last picking up on the pang of hunger that settled in her stomach. 

The chair legs scraped against the floor as Amity pushed herself away from her desk. Standing up. Amity instinctively stretched her leg muscles as they were stiff from being still for so long. Her mind briefly went to the plan for a jog that she and Luz had made, and she quickly tried to forget it. She did not want to think about attractive girls in front of one of her close friends who would surely start asking questions if Amity started acting oddly. She wasn’t even out to Boscha, and she wasn’t sure she was ready for that conversation either. 

Boscha thankfully did not comment on Amity’s silence as she got up from her own bed and retrieved her bag. The two of them left the dorm together and discussed briefly where they should go eat. They decided on a sandwich joint just down the street from campus. Once they were settled down at a table with their food, Boscha decided to change the topic of conversation.  
  
“Hey Ams,” she started hesitantly, which was unlike the usually hot-headed teen. Nevertheless, she continued to break the silence, “you know, it’s been quite some time since we’ve been in this Plaza together. I don’t know if you remember the last time we came here, but I just can’t get it out of my head right now.” The girl attempted and failed to stifle a chuckle, “y- your siblings tried to convince you that if you found the drain in the fountain and pulled it open, you’d unleash a fountain genie. Remember that?” 

“Wh- oh yes, and I thought it would be a smart idea to go for a swim…” Amity immediately shut her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose as she recalled the incident, wondering why Boscha had decided to bring that up. “Thank you for bringing that up, I _definitely_ wanted to remember that,” Amity said sardonically, her cheeks reddening slightly in embarrassment. Boscha seemed to get a kick out of that, reaching over to elbow Amity in the gut.

“Me, forgetting something that’d embarrass “Little Miss Perfect” over here? Imagine that,” Boscha let out an exaggerated gasp, obviously trying to start some playful banter with her friend. Amity rolled her eyes, before playfully shoving her friend.

“Oh, I can’t imagine forgetting _that_ adventure. My mother lectured me for getting my clothes all wet and told me that it was unbecoming of a young lady, and that I was a disgrace to the Blight name,” Amity said somewhat bitterly. 

  
“Good thing you’re out from under her thumb now!” Boscha grinned knowingly as she nudged her friend again in the side. Amity offered a half smile in return. 

“Yeah, thank fuck…” She said - _For a little while anyway until I graduate. By that time, they won’t even stand a chance trying to drag me back to that hellhole_ \- Amity thought silently to herself. 

“She hasn’t tried calling you at all lately, right?” Boscha asked, wanting to check in. Family, on that front, was a touchy subject for both of them. And both girls always had each other to lean on when it came to parental matters.

“I mean, she called me at the beginning of the semester, of course. You know my mother, she needs to be in the know,” Amity explained. “I’m expecting another call from her within the next few days,” she threw her hands up in annoyance and deadpanned, “I can barely contain my excitement.”

“That should be fun,” Boscha said dryly. “Does she know anything about the bookstore job?” 

“Not a _clue_ ,” Amity’s chest swelled with pride as she said that. Not only was it something _she_ wanted to do, it was something she had chosen on her own without her mother’s involvement. 

“I still don’t know why you didn’t indulge in your rebellious phase back in high school,” Boscha said, noticing the proud look in Amity’s eyes. 

Amity stared incredulously at her friend. “Yes you do. I would have been sent to _boot camp_ , or at least the socialite version of a boot camp.” 

“Sheesh, alright,” Boscha held her hands up in defense, giving Amity a noncommittal shrug. “But I’m just saying, I don’t think I’ve ever seen this side of you in all the years I’ve known you.” She gave Amity one of her rare, genuine smiles, reaching up to ruffle the girl's hair while knowing full that her friend absolutely _hated_ that. “Like the fact that your hair is brown now rather than suffocating in a putrid sea of green.” 

Amity rolled her eyes good-naturedly and swatted Boscha’s hand away, tidying up her half ponytail afterwards. “Honestly, it’s the lightest my hair’s ever felt in years,” she admitted. 

“Speaking of flexing your newfound freedom…” Boscha began, a knowing look coming across her face, “Surely you’ve made your own friends in this new, rebellious age of Amity Blight? Anybody your mother would call _scandalous_?” 

Amity snorted in amusement, and her mind immediately went to Luz. “Well… There is someone, I guess…” she started. 

  
Boscha cocked a brow at her. “I was asking about a friend, but you’re making it sound like _that_ kind of someone.” A smirk graced over Boscha’s lips. “Something you wanna share with me, Ams?” 

Almost immediately, Amity’s cheeks burned red hot. “No! Er, I mean- not at all! God, I swear you’ve been hanging out with Edric and Emira. Have you? Did they put you up to this?” Amity stared at her friend with an air of scrutiny, searching for any sign that this _betrayal_ was the case. 

“Oh my God, there is!” Boscha squealed, completely ignoring Amity’s bombardment of questions. 

“Shut up!” Amity cried, her cheeks still stinging with redness. She looked away from her friend and tried to calm herself down. Boscha always managed to get under her skin like this, but not in a bad way. Taking a deep breath and exhaling, she finally continued with her original statement. “She’s just a friend, and her name is Luz. I doubt you’d know her, so don’t get any ideas. She works at the Owl House Cafe.” 

“Oh Ams, your mom would _definitely_ hate that!” Boscha grinned, thinking of the absolutely disgusted look on Odalia’s face she’d get to see if the lady should ever come into town and meet Luz. 

“Yes, which is why I absolutely cannot let my mother know about her, under any circumstances,” Amity continued, completely serious. She enunciated her words to get the point across to Boscha. “I don’t even want _you_ to tell her, even if it would mean watching her get pissed off.” 

Boscha’s expression softened and her eyes filled up with sympathy. “Of course, that would only make life harder for you.” Boscha understood Amity’s meaning. “I’ve got your back, I promise.”

“Thanks Boscha,” Amity beamed at her friend. How could she ever have doubted her?  
  
“No problem, Ams. So, tell me more about Luz.” The playful smirk was back on her face. 

Amity sighed in mock exasperation, dramatically rolling her eyes in addition. “Oh, if I must!” Then she smiled and proceeded to tell Boscha a little bit about Luz, intentionally leaving out the ADHD part. That was Luz’s truth to tell, after all. 

“Well, she seems like a good match for you,” Boscha teased, howling with laughter when Amity’s face turned tomato-red once more.  
  
“I hate you _so_ much,” Amity muttered without any real bite to her words. 

“Oh, I know you love me,” Boscha said with a cheeky grin. “Come on, let’s head back to the dorms.” 

Amity agreed, they were done with their food and didn’t really need to be there any longer. The two of them threw away their trash and returned to campus, all the while continuing their playful banter. 

* * *

Luz, finally back at her apartment and fresh out of the shower, found herself working on a semester-long project for her upcoming digital animation class. This particular course required designing a storyboard centered around original characters, all of which the students had to make both reference sheets and movement tests for. Luz, being passionate about this particular field of study, decided to pour her heart and soul into the animation, storyline, and everything that accompanied it. Sure, frame-by-frame sections tend to take hours, but with the combination of Redbull and coffee she had going for her, it practically felt like the keyframes were developing themselves!

To anyone else, it might seem far-fetched to write and develop a scene in which a young girl chases an owl to another world to become the apprentice of an outcast witch, but the idea felt so real to Luz, for some reason. She couldn’t help but spend hours upon hours detailing the young girl’s adventures in that fantasy world. 

All the while, despite the surprising amount of focus it took to incorporate smear-frames, Amity Blight plagued her mind. She just couldn’t get the brunette out of her head, and it was starting to annoy Luz. Of course this happens when she’s trying _so_ hard to focus on her project. It wasn’t that Luz didn’t _like_ thinking about Amity, it was just a little frustrating that thinking about Amity also brought along fuzzy feelings that distracted her from the hours of work that went along with being a visual development student. 

Eventually, though, she was able to focus on her work. At about 3 in the afternoon, Luz heard the ding of her self-made timer reverberate through the dorm. Without the timer, she probably wouldn’t have remembered to take a break, and likely have ended up overworking and losing track of time. Even her ADHD couldn’t keep her from focusing on animation work for hours upon hours without stopping, so however annoying the ringing was, the timer was necessary. 

Luz saved her work and pushed herself away from her desk. She figured make some time in-between working on some of her other homework to text her mom. While scrolling up to unlock her apps, she idly remembered her promise to have a jog with Amity tomorrow evening. Before she could forget, Luz made a note on her phone that would notify her of it again later. 

She soon moved onto fiddling around with some of her other apps, and found herself swiping opening up her message thread with Amity. Thinking about the day they had planned together, she decided it best to text Amity a reminder as well. If she were to get a meaningful conversation out of it, that’d be an added bonus. 

**_Luz Noceda_ ** _: Hey Princess, don’t forget our run tomorrow afternoon. Get ready to eat dirt ;)_

**_Amity Blight_ ** _: Bold of you to assume I’m gonna be the one eating dirt_

**_Luz Noceda_ ** _: It’s either that or get caught by the heterosexuals_

**_Amity Blight_ ** _: You sure talk tough for someone who’s about to eat my dirt, Noceda._

Luz had to pause at this since the statement didn’t quite register in her mind at first, then she burst out laughing. 

**_Luz Noceda_ ** _: Oh it is on, Blight._


End file.
